Key Takeaways

• NATO unveils “Drone Edge” program allocating more than $40B for counter-UAV technology across five years
• Four European nations—Norway, Finland, Germany, and Denmark—commit to purchasing up to five Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton reconnaissance drones
• Russia’s Dronnitsa conference openly focuses its agenda on preparing for “large-scale conflict with NATO”
• Russian drone manufacturers now produce millions of unmanned systems each year, maintaining production superiority
• NATO aims to increase drone operator training fivefold before 2027 ends

Unmanned aerial vehicle technology is fundamentally transforming military readiness strategies for both NATO and Russia. From explosive-laden drones to artificially intelligent swarm systems, massive investments are flowing into UAV capabilities on both sides.

NATO Unveils Massive $40 Billion Counter-Drone Program

During this week’s summit in Ankara, NATO introduced its “Drone Edge” strategy. The comprehensive initiative allocates over $40 billion toward advanced counter-drone systems throughout the coming five years.

NATO’s Secretary General Mark Rutte additionally announced that member states will acquire up to five Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton high-altitude reconnaissance unmanned aircraft. A letter of intent formalizing this acquisition was signed by Norway, Finland, Germany, and Denmark.

These Triton systems will augment NATO’s current RQ-4D Phoenix drone fleet, which operates from Sigonella Air Base in Sicily. Both platforms trace their lineage to Northrop’s Global Hawk design, featuring a 35.4-meter wingspan and endurance exceeding 30 hours of continuous flight.

Additionally, NATO has committed to expanding its drone pilot training programs to produce five times the current number of qualified operators before 2027 concludes.

Russia’s Military Focus Shifts Toward NATO Confrontation

As NATO strengthens its defensive posture, Russia pursues its own strategic path. The upcoming Dronnitsa conference, Russia’s primary annual drone technology forum scheduled for August, explicitly centers on preparation for “major warfare with NATO.”

Samuel Bendett, a leading drone warfare analyst advising both CNA and CNAS research institutions, emphasizes the significance of this strategic pivot. He characterizes Dronnitsa as an operationally-focused gathering where field operators collaborate with manufacturers to develop actionable tactics and viable technology.

Russian defense manufacturers now output millions of unmanned systems annually. According to Bendett, this production capacity provides Russia with a significant, though potentially temporary, quantitative advantage over Western manufacturing capabilities.

Among the technologies under development are fiber-optic controlled drones, which prove substantially more resistant to electronic warfare jamming than conventional radio-controlled variants. These innovations emerge directly from operational experience gained during the Ukraine conflict.

Understanding the Evolution of Contemporary Drone Combat

Drones have evolved dramatically from reconnaissance platforms into primary offensive weapons systems. Throughout Ukraine, coordinated drone swarms have successfully targeted Russian petroleum facilities. Across the Middle East, Iranian-manufactured Shahed drones have created significant disruption to maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormoz.

Contemporary loitering munitions cost substantially less than traditional cruise missiles while enabling mass deployment tactics. These systems can remain airborne for extended periods, engage mobile objectives, and utilize low-altitude flight profiles that evade conventional radar systems.

Looking forward, NATO analysts project that future drone warfare will incorporate artificially intelligent swarm coordination, directed-energy interception networks, underwater-launched aerial systems, and additive-manufactured munitions.

The technological competition between offensive drone capabilities and counter-drone defenses continues to intensify across both alliances.

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh on Thursday released names of the experts who will comprise five task forces to examine the institution’s operations — a list that includes several prominent Wall Street names, business leaders and a wide expanse of academicians and former Fed officials.

Warsh first disclosed his intention to create the task forces last month, saying they would tackle communications, data, the Fed’s balance sheet, data, productivity and jobs and the framework for how the policymakers view inflation.

Among the prominent names involved are venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, former Bank of England Governor Mervin King, and Greg Mankiw, former chairman of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers. Doug McMillon, the former CEO of Walmart, leads the names of business executives involved. Several of the names, including King, had been leaked previously.

“I am honored that the best minds from a range of disciplines have agreed to work with us to sharpen our performance as an institution,” Warsh said. “The goal is straightforward: to ensure the Fed is best positioned to achieve our objectives in this consequential time.”

A Fed news release did not indicate a timeline of when the task forces would complete their work, though Warsh has said he expects changes to come this year.

The statement also noted that the panels will “operate independently, with a mandate to follow the evidence, provide candid feedback, and produce rigorous findings” that will be reported back to officials on the Federal Open Market Committee.

Members represent a swath of interests, spanning ideologies and backgrounds.

Others named to the task forces include Raghuram Rajan, former governor the Reserve Bank of India; former Fed Governor Jeremy Stein and William White, a Canadian economist who warned about central bank easy money prior to the 2008 global financial crisis.

For Andreesen, this is the second prominent appointment in recent days, having been named in late June to the U.S. Defense Policy Board, a civilian advisory group for the Pentagon.

When he initially announced the task forces, Warsh, who has been chairman for less than two months, said the groups would “start with first principles; ask hard questions; examine current practice; consider alternatives; and, ultimately, propose next steps for policymaker consideration.”

The chairman said in the Thursday announcement that the Fed has “resolve to pursue our mandate with rigor.”

The task forces are expected to take a sharp look at Fed orthodoxy. Warsh already has had an impact on Fed communications as officials look to provide less guidance about where policy is headed and focus more on their “reaction function,” or the conditions under which they will adjust interest rates. The post-meeting statement in June was notably shorter than prior versions.

The members of the task forces are:

Communications: Peter R. Fisher, professor of practice, Foster School of Business, University of Washington; Arminio Fraga, founder and chairman, Gávea Investimentos and the former president of the Central Bank of Brazil; and King.

Balance Sheet Policy: Karen Dynan, Harvard economist; Rajan and Stein.

Data: McMillon, Harvard economist Raj Chetty and University of Chicago economist Kevin Murphy.

Productivity and Jobs: Andreesen, Stanford economist Charles I. Jones, and Asha Sharma, executive vice president and XBOX CEO at Microsoft.

Inflation Frameworks: Mankiw, White and New York University economist Thomas Sargent.

The groups will be supported as well by Fed staff.

Key Highlights

• Kalshi is requesting regulatory clearance for perpetual futures covering gold, currencies, and energy.

• The trading venue intends to move past cryptocurrency-focused derivative offerings.

• Precious metals, particularly gold, represent a top strategic focus for upcoming launches.

• Regulatory examination by the CFTC may establish precedents for energy-linked perpetual contracts.

• Legacy derivative exchanges confront mounting competitive challenges from Kalshi’s strategic growth.

Kalshi has submitted applications to broaden its perpetual futures offerings into precious metals, currency pairs, and energy commodities. This strategic initiative represents an effort to extend its regulated derivatives framework beyond cryptocurrency markets. The expansion strategy positions Kalshi in direct rivalry with long-standing exchange platforms and retail-focused trading services.

Precious Metals Lead Kalshi’s Expansion Strategy

The trading platform has identified gold-linked perpetual futures as an initial priority amid expanding interest beyond digital currencies. Precious metals hold widespread recognition among both retail participants and institutional trading desks. Management views gold as an accessible gateway for introducing broader traditional asset exposure.

Unlike conventional futures agreements, perpetual contracts carry no fixed expiration dates. Market participants maintain positions indefinitely without needing to transition holdings into subsequent contract periods. Yet leveraged exposure amplifies potential profits and losses during volatile price movements.

Following CFTC authorization in May, Kalshi introduced regulated cryptocurrency perpetual futures that have accumulated approximately $16.1 billion in transaction volume. Building on that momentum, the platform seeks to deploy identical contract structures across conventional financial instruments.

Currency and Energy Markets Join Expansion Blueprint

The venue is simultaneously advancing products connected to currency exchange rates and energy commodities. These instrument categories frequently react to international tensions, production disruptions, and cyclical consumption patterns. Management identifies these characteristics as favorable attributes for sustained perpetual futures activity.

Company representatives report substantial progress in regulatory discussions regarding the planned product launches. The CFTC has additionally requested industry feedback concerning perpetual instruments linked to physically deliverable or inventory-based energy commodities. This consultation process may determine how petroleum products and related assets access regulated trading environments.

Future development may encompass contracts tracking equity indices and single-stock exposures. Nevertheless, metals, currencies, and energy commodities appear positioned as immediate priorities. Upon receiving approval, these instruments would operate during standard trading sessions rather than continuous 24-hour availability.

Perpetual Contract Approval Intensifies Market Competition

This development unfolds as established exchange operators evaluate competitive implications from regulated perpetual futures authorization. CME Group, Cboe Global Markets, Nasdaq, and Intercontinental Exchange have encountered pressure following CFTC approval decisions. These determinations sparked concerns regarding competitive dynamics within U.S. derivatives infrastructure.

CME Group has initiated legal proceedings against the CFTC and its leadership challenging approvals granted to Kalshi and Coinbase. The exchange contends that regulatory authorities advanced excessively fast on products carrying substantial market-wide consequences. Skeptics additionally caution that retail market participants may inadequately assess hazards associated with leveraged perpetual instruments.

Kalshi maintains that regulated market access channels offshore trading activity into supervised environments. Company estimates suggest international perpetual futures volume approached $90 trillion throughout the previous year. Consequently, its precious metals, currency, and energy initiative may gauge appetite for regulated alternatives within domestic markets.

Kalshi has intensified its push into regulated perpetual futures by seeking approval to launch gold, foreign exchange, and energy contracts as competition with Robinhood expands beyond crypto.

According to Reuters, the prediction markets platform is in advanced discussions with U.S. regulators to introduce perpetual futures linked to traditional assets, extending the strategy it first used in crypto markets.

The proposal covers contracts tied to precious metals, foreign exchange, and energy, while the company is also evaluating perpetual products linked to stock indices and individual equities over time.

Unlike traditional futures, perpetual contracts have no expiration date, allowing traders to keep positions open without rolling them into new contracts. Kalshi became one of the first regulated U.S. platforms to offer crypto perpetual futures, and Reuters reported that those products have already generated about $16.1 billion in trading volume.

Gold has emerged as Kalshi’s priority market

Comments from Kalshi Chief Risk Officer Udesh Jha, cited by Reuters, indicate that customer demand is shaping the platform’s product roadmap. Jha identified gold as one of the strongest candidates for expansion because it attracts interest from both retail and institutional traders.

He also pointed to foreign exchange, metals, and energy markets as attractive segments, noting that geopolitical events and seasonal trading patterns continue to create demand across those asset classes. Reuters reported that these factors have encouraged Kalshi to look beyond digital assets while remaining within regulated derivatives markets.

The expansion comes even as the company continues to navigate increasing scrutiny around prediction markets. Earlier this month, Google updated its Chrome Web Store Developer Program policies to prohibit browser extensions that facilitate real-money transactions on predictive outcomes.

The revised rules take effect on Aug. 1, 2026, after which non-compliant extensions could face removal from the Chrome Web Store. The policy change follows mounting legal and regulatory disputes involving platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket over event-based contracts and state gambling laws.

Robinhood continues to expand across asset classes

Kalshi’s latest regulatory push places it in more direct competition with Robinhood, which has been expanding well beyond its traditional brokerage business.

Earlier this month, Robinhood introduced multi-asset perpetual futures through Bitstamp, allowing eligible customers to trade cryptocurrencies, commodities, equity indices, and foreign exchange using a single collateral pool. Industry reports have also indicated that the company is working toward launching perpetual futures in the United States, subject to regulatory approval.

Robinhood has also been strengthening its crypto infrastructure. As previously reported by crypto.news, Robinhood Chain recorded $500 million in daily Uniswap trading volume within eight days of launch. The Arbitrum-powered network has surpassed $106 million in total value locked, placing it among the more active decentralized finance ecosystems.

If regulators approve Kalshi’s proposed products, the regulated perpetual futures market could become increasingly competitive as both companies expand into commodities, currencies, equities, and digital assets under regulated frameworks.

For Kalshi, Reuters reported that beginning with gold and other heavily traded markets would allow the company to build on the momentum generated by its crypto perpetual futures business while serving traders looking for exposure to multiple asset classes.

STRC by Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) is now offering investors more than 28% upside potential if it returns to par and pays its dividends over the next year. But investors keep selling it anyway.

Over the last week, STRC has declined 2% and is down 11% in 30 days. These sales in the face of Strategy’s generous offer are votes of diminishing confidence in management, including founder Michael Saylor.

As of today, STRC was paying a 12% annualized dividend at full par value of $100 yet was on sale for under $86 per share.

If that stock returns to Strategy’s intended $99-100 trading range and pays its dividends, investors would earn a total return of at least 15% on their stock price appreciation plus a stream of semi-monthly dividends.

Even better, those dividends have beneficial tax treatment as return of capital, meaning that 12% is even higher than 12% for many investors on a tax-adjusted basis. 

SpaceX shares have gained fresh momentum after Raymond James initiated coverage with an $800 price target, implying about 440% upside from current levels.

According to Raymond James, the brokerage has started coverage of SpaceX with a Strong Buy rating and an $800 price target, making it one of the most optimistic forecasts issued by a major Wall Street firm.

The target came as SPCX traded around the $153 level on Thursday after rising about 3.2%, following a difficult stretch in which the stock had fallen more than 25% from recent highs despite joining the Nasdaq-100, as previously reported by crypto.news.

The brokerage linked its bullish outlook to three long-term businesses that it believes could support future growth. Raymond James pointed to the continued development of Starship, the expanding Starlink satellite internet network, and the company’s potential to become a major global infrastructure provider through its launch and communications operations.

Wall Street support for SpaceX continues to grow

Fresh optimism from Raymond James builds on a series of positive ratings issued by other investment banks in recent days. Morgan Stanley began coverage with an Overweight rating, assigning a base-case price target of $300 and a bull-case target of $600.

Goldman Sachs also initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $205 target, while Citigroup started coverage with a Buy recommendation and a 12-month target of $200. UBS and Wells Fargo also launched coverage with positive recommendations, adding to institutional support for the newly listed company.

Although Raymond James’ forecast stands well above those targets, the latest recommendation has added to expectations that analysts continue to see substantial upside even after SpaceX’s recent share price volatility.

Separately, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest has continued increasing its exposure to SpaceX. According to reports, the investment firm bought 153,084 shares across its ARKK, ARKQ, and ARKX exchange-traded funds. Based on SpaceX’s closing price of $148.30, the purchase was valued at roughly $22.7 million.

The Trump White House has rejected accusations that it is refusing to nominate Democratic commissioners to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission as the Senate moves closer to debating the CLARITY Act.

According to a letter sent by the White House to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, the administration said it had already asked for suitable Democratic nominees for both the SEC and the CFTC but had not received any names in response.

The letter pushes back against criticism that the administration is deliberately leaving seats vacant at two agencies expected to oversee large parts of the digital asset market if the CLARITY Act becomes law.

With the Senate still yet to schedule a floor vote on the market structure bill, the exchange over regulatory appointments has added another issue to negotiations already facing time pressure. As crypto.news reported earlier, lawmakers are working against the Senate’s Aug. 7 recess, leaving a limited window to move the legislation forward.

Senate negotiations continue before floor vote

Although the White House defended its position on the nominations, it remains unclear whether the disagreement will influence support for the CLARITY Act. Lawmakers from both parties are still negotiating several outstanding provisions, including an ethics section that has become part of the broader talks.

Separately, law enforcement organizations have argued that the bill’s decentralized finance provisions could make investigations into illicit finance more difficult. Those concerns have become another point of discussion as senators continue to negotiate the final language before any vote is scheduled.

At the same time, debate over protections for blockchain developers has continued. As crypto.news reported earlier today, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden urged Thune and Schumer to preserve Section 604, known as the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, in any future version of the CLARITY Act.

In a letter to the Senate leaders, Wyden argued that legal protections for non-custodial blockchain developers should remain part of the legislation as negotiations continue.

Pro-crypto senators defend key provisions

Meanwhile, Sen. Cynthia Lummis publicly defended the CLARITY Act after Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized the proposal, arguing that it would create opportunities for sanctions evasion.

In a post on X, Lummis responded that both lawmakers want bad actors held accountable but differ on how to achieve that outcome. She pointed to Section 303, saying it would authorize new crypto sanctions targeting Iran, while Section 305 would allow major cryptocurrency exchanges to stop illicit funds before they reach North Korea.

Lummis has also warned that Congress may not get another opportunity to pass comprehensive digital asset legislation before the end of the decade. In an earlier X post, she argued that failing to pass the CLARITY Act would leave the United States following rules written by other countries instead of establishing its own regulatory framework.

For now, the White House’s defense of its nomination process, ongoing negotiations over key provisions, and competing arguments from lawmakers have all become part of the political backdrop as the Senate prepares for its next steps on one of the crypto industry’s most closely watched bills.

• Solana (SOL) is up 18.5% over the past 30 days.
• Analysts are watching the $85–$90 resistance zone.
• B3 futures and FullSend add to Solana’s momentum.

Solana has regained momentum after a difficult stretch earlier this year, with the token climbing back above the $77 mark and extending its monthly recovery.

At the time of writing, SOL is trading at $77.73, up 0.8% over the past 24 hours after moving between $76.25 and $78.62 during the session.

Over the past month, the cryptocurrency has gained 18.5%, while its two-week performance stands at 21.6%.

The recent recovery has renewed interest in Solana’s outlook, particularly as technical indicators, institutional activity, and network developments begin to align.

While the token remains well below its all-time high of $293.31, several analysts believe the current trend has created room for further upside if key resistance levels are cleared.

Technical picture points to key breakout levels

SOL’s latest rally follows a rebound of roughly 38% from its recent low near $60, bringing renewed attention to the asset’s technical structure.

The recovery also marked Solana’s first positive monthly performance in several months, suggesting that selling pressure has eased.

Market analyst Ali Martinez has identified the $85 to $90 region as an important resistance zone.

A sustained move above that range would bring the psychologically significant $100 level back into focus.

SOLANA: BIG SUPPLY WALL

Solana is currently attempting to reclaim a resistance zone between $79 and $85.

According to URPD data, roughly 105 million SOL were transacted within this range, establishing a dense supply cluster.

Reclaiming this zone as support clears the overhead… https://t.co/CZXB9kPtOz pic.twitter.com/jiZI3GJ8z4

— Ali Charts (@alicharts) July 8, 2026

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Another closely watched analyst, Michaël van de Poppe, has highlighted the importance of the $73- $76 area, describing it as a major support zone that continues to underpin the broader recovery.

According to Poppe, as long as that area remains intact, the longer-term structure remains constructive from a technical standpoint.

Things start to become interesting here for $SOL.

If it is able to hold between $ 73- $ 76 and bounce back upwards, it is a strong signal that the markets are ready to run to higher than $100.

If that doesn’t happen, boy, we’ll be seeing new lows across the board. pic.twitter.com/XRz4iMfxY6

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— Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) July 8, 2026

Attention has also shifted to Solana’s performance against Bitcoin.

The SOL/BTC trading pair has shown signs of strengthening after spending months in decline.

According to technical analysis, a breakout above the long-term resistance around 0.00140–0.00145 BTC could indicate improving relative strength for Solana compared with Bitcoin.

If that breakout is confirmed, technical projections place the next major value area between $140 and $150.

Those levels are based on historical trading activity rather than guaranteed price targets, meaning further confirmation would still be needed before the market could sustain such a move.

At the same time, focus is on the $75 to $78 range as an important near-term support area.

Holding above that zone would help preserve the current recovery, while a break below it could slow bullish momentum.

Institutional adoption continues to expand

Beyond price action, Solana has also benefited from growing institutional participation.

Brazil’s stock exchange, B3, recently expanded its regulated cryptocurrency derivatives offering by introducing Solana futures alongside Ethereum futures and Bitcoin options.

The contracts are settled in US dollars and reference Nasdaq’s digital asset benchmark prices.

Each Solana futures contract represents 5 SOL, giving professional investors another regulated instrument for gaining exposure to the asset or managing risk through hedging strategies.

B3 also reduced the size of its Bitcoin futures contracts to improve accessibility, a move that reflects broader efforts to increase participation in regulated crypto derivatives.

The expansion places Solana alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum within one of Latin America’s largest regulated exchange environments.

While derivatives products do not directly determine price direction, they typically improve market efficiency by expanding trading and hedging opportunities for institutional participants.

Recent infrastructure developments have also focused attention on Solana’s ability to support high-volume financial applications.

Privy, the wallet infrastructure provider acquired by Stripe, has partnered with Jito Labs to launch FullSend, a transaction routing system designed specifically for the Solana blockchain.

Instead of relying solely on traditional RPC infrastructure, FullSend routes transactions directly to the validator responsible for producing the next block.

According to the companies, the system has been operating in production since January and has processed millions of transactions with 99.999% landing reliability.

The technology also reduces transaction inclusion latency to approximately 50 milliseconds, compared with roughly 200 milliseconds or more under conventional routing methods.

For developers building payment platforms, trading applications, or financial services, those improvements reduce failed transactions during periods of network congestion while simplifying transaction management.

Developers using Privy’s wallet infrastructure receive these routing improvements without implementing additional software.

The announcement also highlights Privy’s growing reach following its acquisition by Stripe.

The company supports approximately 140 million accounts across applications that collectively process billions of dollars in monthly transaction volume.

The immediate focus now remains on whether buyers can push the token above the $85–$90 resistance range.

A successful breakout would place $100 at the centre of market attention, while continued strength in the SOL/BTC pair could reinforce the view that Solana is beginning to outperform Bitcoin once again.